andiesenji

It is a jelly made from an infusion of dried sweet osmanthus flowers, AKA Kwai Hua or guì hu? chá, ???. You can buy the dried flowers in most Chinese herbal shops. or online. here. You have to make an infusion, add a sweetener then something to make it jell and cook it until that happens. (The Sure-Jel package has instructions- make it similar to a wine jelly.) The flowers are used in other recipes scroll down to where you see "osmanthus flowers" And here is something about the tree/bush itself. This is the wikipedia entry.

You never want to put a complex piece of machinery away with water on or in it. You may find that when you want to use it, it will not want its parts to move. I dry mine well and even spray a little vegelene in the works and turn the crank a few times, just to make sure. Years ago I had one that someone used, rinsed and put away in its plastic bag (to keep dust off) and when I wanted to use it, the crank would not turn. It wasn't exactly rust, but some kind of corrosion (gray flakes fell out when I pounded it on the counter) had caused the works to seize up. I take care of my stuff and it keeps working just fine.

For your convenience, I made a link to Star Kitchen. It is a really good store. I can just stay in there for a long time and dream. FYI Van Nuys is located right in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles area, about a 20-30 minute drive west from Universal Studios. ← And they have thousands more items than those listed on the web site. I know people who drive from Las Vegas to load up their van with stuff at Star.

I use Dawn Power Dissolver spray. Take the machine apart, place it in the sink and spray all the exposed surfaces with the Dawn - Allow it to "work" for at least 30 minutes or longer. Pour boiling water over it and let it set in the water for a couple of minutes, brush the exposed surfaces and down into the recesses with a dish brush (I use a nail brush). Drain the water from the sink and rinse well with hot water. When mine needs this kind of cleaning I blow it dry with a heat gun but a hair dryer works well also. If there are any little sticky spots left, the best way to get them off and to polish the metal is to take a barely damp folded paper towel, dip in DRY baking soda and rub the spot. This is what I use to clean my antique chrome appliances and it works beautifully to remove those burnt on grease spots that are difficult with any other method.

Ah yes, the favorite "clingy bits" that end up as a sort of gooey rim around the pot after jam or jelly has been ladeled out. The top edge of the cooking jam always sort of works it way up a little above the level of the jam and becomes "candied" almost the consistency of a jujube. I have discovered that I can get the entire thing off in an unbroken string if I use a thin-bladed butter knife lightly heated over a burner flame.

Perhaps there's a connection between the 38 and the jewelry? To say nothing of the "forgotten" cash. Perhaps you live next door to robbers! SB (Tell Mrs Obregon she's welcome. She can forward my normal 25% "finders fee" to the local Food Shelf) ← Not very likely they are robbers! Two of their sons are cops, one a Highway patrolman the other an L.A. Co. Sheriff. Mr. Obregon fills in as a security guard at the Palmdale airport when they are short-handed so his security check is pretty solid.

I had breakfast with my next-door neighbors and mentioned this thread. They immediately took inventory of the things on top of their refrigerator and I made a list. A basket of chiles that are in the process of drying. At the back, reachable only with a step-stool is a bottle of very expensive tequila. A tin of "Danish cookies" those that appear in stores every year. A tin of popcorn, 3 flavors. A revolver, 38 special in a padded box. A jug of vinegar. A dish with some jewelry that was removed by someone at the T-Day party and not yet claimed. Someone is missing a wedding and engagement ring and a fancy dinner ring, a watch and a bracelet. Also a retainer wrapped in a napkin. Somebody's teeth are not in training! And last but not least, $80.00 (4 20.00 bills in a paper clip) that was placed there some time back and forgotten. Mrs. Obregon says to thank whoever began this "conversation" as she thought she had lost it.

I buy osmanthus tea - and have even found the flowers sold separately at one time. That is the only thing where I have heard the term Kwai Hua Chin Hsuan used. Osmanthus flower tea I know that some people make a tea jelly with it but I am unfamiliar with how it is used in a particular dessert. I have eaten a sort of bean curd sweet that was made by cooking the bean curd in the tea but I have no recipe and my friends are now living in Hong Kong. If you could describe the dessert and perhaps some of the other ingredients, I could look in some of my books. Isn't "quan fa" the same as kung fu?

I didn't see this thread until this morning. You can get an excellent stabilizer, in small packets at Cost Plus Imports - it is called Whipit and is made by Oetker. You can also find it at other stores but I know that Cost Plus always has it. Too late now but you can order it online from Amazon just type in Oetker - Amazon carries a lot of their products. I have tried just about every method of stabilizing whipped cream, for cream puffs, cream horns and etc. This is the best by far.Oetker Whipit

I agree with Richard and Dave. Patience is the key! You can also watch for notices of "going out of business" for shops that carry the lines of cookware you want. They often sell them for pennies on the dollar. From time to time department stores will close out a line of cookware to carry a different brand. Those are sold at very deep discount. Now that most of them have web sites, you can check there rather than depend on print media notices. I have a couple of Sitram pots which are made for the induction range (a magnet has to stick to the bottom) because my other stockpots are copper or aluminum. I found them at one of the "factory" outlet stores in Lake Elsinore for less than 50% of the regular price listed on line at "bizrate" or "epinions". So if you have one of these factory outlet malls in your area, check them out. However, you should go online first and print out the best prices and deals such as free shipping, no tax if ordering from out of state, to make sure you do get the best price. Sometimes these places will reduce the price if you have a catalog or printout showing a better price. Don't be afraid to ask, the worst they can say is "no" and they might say yes.

I love the Hall teapots. I have 2 of them, and two of similar build made by McCormick, that I found at various flea markets & street fairs over the years. They are the best! Not terribly elegant, but they really do the job, and I'm fanatical about that. ← I have found that any Hall teapot will hold the heat longer than just about any other type. I have a couple of the old style McMormick with the curved "dripless" spout. I found it at a yard sale and had collected a box of other stuff. The lady said she would throw the teapot in because "that old thing was my mama's and I don't have any use for it." I also bought almost a complete set of Bauer dinnerware from her for $10.00. She said she would have kept it if it was "Fiesta" ..... Shame on me, I didn't tell her Fiesta was copied from the Bauer "ringware"....

Here's mine. Nuked Peanut Brittle In a 2-quart Pyrex measure combine: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup (If you can get Lyle's Golden syrup, it makes a much better brittle.) (Use a wooden spoon, this is very thick.) Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Add: 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or almonds or pecans or broken macadamia nuts. Your choice. Stir well and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until mixture is tan to light brown. Add: 1 teaspoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Stir well. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes more: The nuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot. Add: 1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkle over the top of the syrup. Stir briskly until light and foamy. Immediately pour onto lightly oiled foil or use Release foil and no oil is needed. Spread out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour. When completely cool, it should now be brittle. Break up and store in an airtight jar. You can use raw peanuts, however, add them at the beginning and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

I have an open cabinet over my fridge that holds my sheet pans and other flat pans, bun pans, big muffin pans, trays. It sets back 10 inches from the front of the fridge because the fridge does not set all the way back against the wall. (Space used to hold built in fridge and freezer). There is just enough space between the top of the fridge and the bottom of the cabinet to hold 2 flat boxes of parchment pan liners, full sheet and half sheet with the flap at the end of each box hinged at the top so the paper stays clean. I move a cart in front of the fridge, pull down a sheet pan, apply a liner, stack the next pan on top, apply a liner and so on. When I lived down below and still had the 32 cf side-by-side Kelvinator, the top held my sprout "garden" as I found that my sprout trays produced sprouts twice as fast there as anywhere else in the kitchen. I also used to place my dough trough up there for the dough to rise. It was just warm enough to promote optimum yeast action. I still miss that fridge. It may have been an energy hog and it wasn't frost-free, but it held a lot of stuff and ALL the shelves were slide-out and adjustable to any height.

When I first moved to California the Helms Bakery Home delivery was still in operation and the holidays always meant that the Helms Man would have Christmas cupcakes (white or chocolate) in the truck with chocolate mint icing and silver dragees and a cherry on top. The only doughnuts I ever liked were the cinnamon crumb delivered by the Helms Man!

I used to have an entire Stilton for a early holiday party every year but stopped a couple of years ago when it got to be too much for me. The best part was that I saved the Stilton rind (using care to keep it intact) in its wooden box and then would make potato soup and serve it in the Stilton rind - the flavor is incredible.

Oh my God, I LOVE that stuff. My grandparents always had it at Christmas, and now that they're no longer with us, I miss that stuff. I'm going to have to get some this year and just rot my teeth out. Yum! Thanks for reminding me of this stuff. ←

I know the holidays are near when I see the stacks of chocolate-covered cherries in every store, especially the drug stores. The Walgreens here has a mountain of them right next to the entrance to the checkout lane (form a single line, person in front goes to the next open checker.) I don't eat chocolate but for some reason, those always make my mouth water.

Down here we are lucky to have Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys. They will sell anything to anyone, have been open to the public since the day they opened (and I have been shopping there since the first week they opened in 1963). Now they are online at starkitchen.com And if you want something and they can find who makes it, they will order it. about 15 years ago I ordered a rolling bin as a gift for my best friend, to hold 2 big bags of dog food, with a sliding stainless steel top to hold her dog dishes. (She owns a kennel.) They got it and APOLOGIZED because it cost 110.00.... It was a super bargain, my friend still uses it and it is as good as the day it was new. Comparable bins, with domed plexiglass tops were much more costly and not at all useful. Their prices are excellent. The place is like Aladdin's treasure cave for a foodie!

I forgot to mention Special Teas and of course, Republic of Tea These can be found in many stores, Barnes & Noble usually carries almost all of their teas, both loose and bagged. I particularly like the Blackberry Sage (real dried fruits in the mix) and purchase of some of their teas include a donation to cancer research. They also carry Fair Trade teas which I think are very important. You can also ask questions here about various tea items.

There are many teapots available with infusers. However, for a true loose tea experience, the best way is to have two teapots, one for brewing the tea which is then strained into the serving pot. You want something that will hold the heat long enough for the tea to be served. Earthenware and cast iron hold heat the longest, however there are some insulated teapots that are excellent and are modern in style. The classic "Brown Betty" holds heat quite well. Glass, except for the very expensive double-walled insulated (and hard to find) item does not hold heat well unless you cover it with a cozy. I have a somewhat large collection of teapots that I have been adding to for more than 40 years. Amazon has a large selection. Note that the BonJour Classic insulated is now on sale (scroll down half-way on the page) On page 4 you can see an "Old Dutch" teapot with chrome cozy. I have several similar teapots made by Hall China which are often found on ebay. They are very nice and do keep tea at perfect serving temperature. I am sure this is more than you want to know, but I am somewhat fanatic about teapots.

I have some of the Colima salt. My next-door neighbors are from Mexico and when he goes down on a fishing trip (for tuna and dorado) he brings back various things, including the 5-kilo bags that are made of some kind of natural fiber that is sort of silky feeling. I save the bags. I have also used this salt for pickles and it is excellent. Have you seen those bags and do you know what they are made of? My neighbor asked and was told it was "banana fiber" but that doesn't sound feasible.

I have bought teas from many online vendors. Harney & Sons and Adagio teas are two of my favorites. The selection is first rate and the service is excellent.

You can get one that is placed in the meat or whatever, that has a remote device that you can even wear around your neck and it will beep them the correct temp is reached. Since you are not inserting and removing the probe, you do not have to worry about contamination. Maverick remote meat thermometer. Sharper Image version. Various ones available at Amazon When I was in Target last week, they had a sale on the Weber for 35.00.

The subtle sensation of violets can only be felt when the salt is newly collected. As the salt dries, it disappears. Fleur de sel is almost never commercialized while the violet smell is still in it. And this particularity is only for fleur de sel from the Atlantic coast. There is absolutely no violet smell in fleur de sel de Camargue, which is also a commercial gimmick but at least the Guérande fleur de sel could claim some authenticity in the days when you could get it directly from the producer. Fleur de sel de Camargue was developed when some people realized how much money they could make from it after seeing how well Guérande did. At any rate, whatever is left from the violet smell is reduced to nothing when fleur de sel is used on food. The "foodie" argument is not very pertinent when you figure how much some foodies will pay for overhyped gimmicks. Indeed fleur de sel, when it is sold quite dry and far away from the marsh, IS a sales gimmick, certainly not worth its price. However I will certainly not blame the paludiers from Guérande and Batz-sur-Mer for setting this up, for this gimmick very probably saved the marshes from destruction and development. About twenty years ago, the salt marshes were threatened because the grey salt was not profitable enough. If the paludiers have managed to save their jobs, their craft and their produce through overcharging for dried-up fleur de sel, so much the better for everybody. If they hadn't done that, maybe their wonderful grey salt would have disappeared and that would have been a dramatic loss. ← And don't forget, some of the proceeds are earmarked for protection and nurturing of the wild horses! Several years ago I bought a box (little wood box with a linen bag of salt inside), along with a linen bag of rice from Camarque. Inside was a little booklet explaining about the protectorate for the wild horses and how some of the proceeds of these sales protected the horses and their place in the wild. I thought it was a nice touch. I am a sucker for animal rights.

For future reference: You can dry any type of mushroom and it will actually concentrate the flavor. After they are completely dry (they crumble like a cracker at this point) you can store in an airtight container for up to 6 months - sometimes longer. They will dry at room temperature in about 10 days, more rapidly if there is just a little heat and moving air, for instance, if you have on open space on top of your refrigerator, you can spread them on paper towels on a sheet pan and there is just enough heat and air movement to dry them in 4 or 5 days. If you have a convection oven and can turn on just the fan without heat, they will dry even more rapidly. I never waste anything like this. A friend brought me a basket of black trumpets last year and I dried them and used the last of them, still very flavorful, in September.